Moisture condensing system for clothes drying machines



Feb. 25, 1958 A, M, STONE ,386v

MOISTURE CONDENSING SYSTEM FOR CLOTHES DRYING MACHINES Filed Sept. 14,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR AIDAN M. STONE.

H I5 ATTDRNEY Feb. 25', 1958 A. M.VSTONE 2,824,386

MOISTURE CQNDENSING' SYSTEM FOR CLOTHES DRYING MACHINES Fild Sept. 14,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2' FIG.2

INVENTOR.

AIDAN M 51cm: BY 34fW/9 s-u-s ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1958 A. M. STONE2,824,336,

MOISTURE CONDENSINGISYSTEM FOR CLOTHES'DRYING MACHINES Filed Sept. 14,1956 4 Sheed t a FIG. 3

IN VENT 0R. 7

' A'DAN M. STONE BY 9/}? HIS ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1958 ST 2,824,386

MOISTURE CCNDENSING SYSTEM FOR CLOTHES DRYING MACHINES Filed Sept. 14,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 PIC-3.5

IN VENT 0R.

- v AID'AN M. STONE Z8 41 I Y *WfWj H is ATTORNEY United States PateMOISTURE CONDENSING SYSTEM FOR CLOTHES DRYING MACHINES Aidan M. Stone,Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation ofNew York Application September 14, 1956, Serial No. 610,022

4 Claims. (Cl. 3475) My invention relates to clothes drying machines andmore particularly to such machines of the cold wall condensing type inwhich cold water is flowed down a wall of the drying operation duringthe drying operation to condense the moisture extracted from theclothes. It will be understood that by clothes drying machines I meanboth clothes dryers and combination washer-dryers since my invention maybe applied to both. My invention is in fact described in detailhereinafter as applied to a combination washer-dryer.

It is a primary object of my invention to provide an improved clothesdrying machine of the above-mentioned cold wall condensing type; and itis a more specific object of my invention to provide such a machine inwhich the same condenser water is reused within the drying chamber toprovide a second condensing effect after it reaches the bottom portionof the chamber.

In carrying out my invention I provide a clothes drying machine havingan imperforate tub structure which defines a drying chamber. Suitableclothes tumbling means are disposed within the drying chamber and aheater is provided for heating the clothes being tumbled so as toextract moisture therefrom. In order to condense the moisture extractedfrom the clothes the machine includes means for flowing cold condenserwater down a wall of the chamber on the inner surface thereof, and by myinvention the same condenser water is reused to provide a secondcondensing effect within the chamber after it reaches the bottom portionof the wall. To produce this second condensing effect a baffle isprovided which extends across the wall somewhat above the bottom of thechamber. This baffie collects the water coming down the wall and directsit toward one end of the chamber. The drain from the chamber ispositioned at the other end thereof and thus the condenser water toreach the drain must flow longitudinally across the chamber afterleaving the bafile. The condenser water leaving the bafile is in arather turbulent state as compared to the laminar flow action in whichit came down the chamber wall, and thereby new surfaces of the water arepresented to the moist air within the chamber as the water flowslongitudinally across the chamber. Thus the water produces a secondcondensing action during its passage which adds appreciably to theeffectiveness of the drying operation.

The subject, matter which I regard as my invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thisspecification. My invention, however, both as organization and method ofoperation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may bebest understood by reference to the following descriptiontaken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of a combination washer-dryerembodying my invention in one form thereofythe view partially brokenaway and partially in section in order to illustrate details;

2,824,386 Patented Feb. 25, 1958 ICC Fig. 3 is a side elevational viewof the machine with certain surfaces broken away and partially insection in order to illustrate details;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the imperforate tub structure of themachine with the clothes basket removed; and

Pig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the tub structure showing mynovel baffie means for producing a second condensing action within thedrying chamber.

Referring now to the drawings I have shown therein a combinationwasher-dryer l which is so constructed and arranged that it proceedsthrough a sequence of operations first washing and damp drying theclothes placed therein and then completely or fluff drying them. Duringthe drying portion of the machine operation the clothes are heated so asto extract moisture therefrom and this moisture is condensed by flowinga sheet of cold condenser water down a wall of the drying chamber. Aswill be explained hereinafter in detail, by my invention I have providedin the machine 1 new and improved means whereby this condenser water isreused within the drying chamber to provide a secondary condensingaction after it reaches the bottom of the wet wall. "the condenser waterafter reaching the bottom of the wall is collected and flowed in aturbulent state longitudinally across the bottom of the drying chamberwhereby new surfaces of the Water are presented to the moist air withinthe chamber and an additional condensing action is obtained.

The machine 1 is of the horizontal axis type, that is, it includes aclothes basket 2 which is rotatable about a generally horizontal axis.The basket 2 is mounted within an outer imperforate tub 3 and thecylindrical side wall of the basket is provided with a plurality ofperforations or holes to allow communication between the basket and thechamber 4 defined by the tub. The basket is rotatably supported from thetub 3 by a horizontally extending shaft 5 which is mounted inanelongated bearing 6 (Fig. 3) hung from the rear wall of the tubstructure. The shaft 5 as well as supporting the basket 2 also serves todrive it during the operation of the machine. The basket is loaded andunloaded through an opening in the front wall thereof which is alignedrespectively with openings in the tub 3 and the outer appearance cabinet7 of the machine. A hinged door 8 mounted on the appearance cabinetseals around the tub opening so as to close off the chamber 4 during theoperation of the machine.

The imperforate tub 3 and the appearance cabinet 7 are both mounted on asuitable base structure 9 of the bottom of the machine. The tubspecifically is mounted thereon by means of a plurality of brackets orarms 10 which are secured to upstanding plates 11 fixedly attached onthe base. In addition to the tub and the appearance cabinet the base 9also mounts the basket drive means. The, drive means comprise a motor 12and a multi-speed transmission 13 (see Fig. l). The motor 12 drives thetransmission assembly 13 by means of a belt 14 and the transmissionassembly in turn drives the basket 2 through a belt 15. The belt 15specifically turns the basket drive pulley 16 which is mounted on theouter end of the basket drive shaft 5. Transmission assembly 13 isshiftable between two different gear ratios so that the basket 2 may bedriven at one speed for tumbling clothes and at a second or higherspeedfor centrifugally extracting water from the clothes. The clothestumbling speed, may, for example, be about 45 R. P. M. and thecentrifugal extraction speed about 200 R. P. M. The means whereby thetransmission is shifted between thelower and the higher speedspreferably comprises a solenoid operated plunger Fig. 2 is a sideelevational view of the machine of 3 Fig. 1 with the side panel removed;

washer-dryer, that is, it proceeds through a cycle of operations firstwashing and damp drying the clothes and then, if desired, completely orfluff drying the clothes. The clothes basket 2 is driven at its lowerspeed both for washing the clothes and for tumbling them during thedrying operation. It is drivenat its higher speed for extracting waterfrom them by centrifugal extraction. The machine during its sequence ofoperations is under the control of a suitable timer operated sequencecontrol 17 which energizes and de-energizes the various electricalcomponents of the machine in a predetermined sequence. Since thesequence control forms no part of the present invention, it will not bedescribed herein. However, a sequence control and circuit suitable foruse in the illustrated machine are described and claimed in thecopending application of John W. Toma et al., S. N. 584,658 filed May14, 1956 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

To heat the clothes during the drying portion of the machine operationand also to heat the wash water during the washing portion of theoperation when desired there is provided in the machine 1 a heaterassembly including two heaters 18 and 19. These heaters are mounted\titmn the upper portion of the chamber 4 defined by the tub 3 and theyare preferably of the sheathed type. When they are energized during thewashing cycle, they heat the water by first heating the basket 2. Thenas the basket dips into the wash water at the bottom of the tub, it inturn heatsthe water. In other words the rotating basket serves as aneffective heat transfer means between the heating elements and the wateror other washing liquid. When the heaters are energized during thedrying cycle, the heat transferred to the basket is then passed to theclothes to cause vapor migration out of the clothes. Specifically, theheat causes the moisture in the clothes to be evaporated out of theminto the air within the chamber 4. Since the outer cylindrical shell ofthe basket is perforated, some of the heat from the heaters 18 and 19passes directly to the clothes by radiation to aid in this moistureremoval action.

The means whereby water is admitted to and discharged from the tub 3during the operation of the machine are particularly shown in Figs. 1and 2. The water supply means include connections 20 and 21 throughwhich hot and cold water are supplied to the machine respectively. Forthe washing operation a valve controlled by a solenoid 22 admits hotwater to the machine and a valve controlled by a solenoid 23 admits coldwater to the machine. The hot and cold water valves under the control ofthe solenoids22 and 23 discharge through a common outlet conduit 24.From the conduit 24 the inlet water passes through a suitable air gapinto a funnel 25 and the funnel 25 in turn discharges into a line 26which leads to a sump 27 mounted at the bottom of the tub. The sump 27is connected to the interior of the tub, i. e. the chamber 4, by asuitable aperture 28 through the bottom of the tub (see Fig. 4), andwhen water is supplied to the sump from the inlet water valves, thewater rises upwardly into the tub from the sump thereby filling .it. Inthe illustrated machine a pressure actuated sensing device or waterlevel control 29 controls the inlet water valve solenoids 22 and 23 tomaintain the proper water level in the machine during the washingoperation. This sensing device is connected to the interior of the tub 3by a suitable conduit 29a.

In order to drain the wash and rinse water from the machine at the closeof the washing and rinsing operations, the machine 1 is provided with amotor driven drain pump 30 (see Fig. 1). This drain pump is connectedto. the sump 27 by a hose 31 and when it is in operation it withdrawswater from the sump and thus from the chamber 4 through this hose. Fromthe pump 30the waste water is then passedto the household drain througha suitable conduit 32.

.The machine 1 .is of the type which uses cold water during the dryingcycle. forcondensing the moisture extracted from the clothes.Specifically in the machine 1 cold condenser water is flowed down a wallof the tub 3 during the drying operation so as to condense the moisturefrom the moist air in the chamber 4. The condenser water is admitted tothe machine 1 during the drying cycle by means of a solenoid actuatedvalve which is connected to the conduit 21 and which is controlled by asolenoid 33 (Fig. 1). The solenoid 33 is energized during the dryingoperation so that the valve controlled by it passes Water at a slow ratesufficient to condense the moisture extracted from the clothes. Asshown, the condenser water valve discharges into a funnel 34 through anindividual discharge conduit 35. The air gap between the conduit 35 andthe funnel 34 prevents supply line contamination. From the funnel thecondenser water flows through a line 36 (Fig. 2) into a vent trap device37, and from the trap device 37 it flows through an aperture (not shown)in the tub side wall into the interior chamber 4 of the tub. The trapdevice 37 is intended to seal ofi? the interior of the tub during thedrying operation while venting it through a suitable vent hose 38 duringthe washing operation. In the illustrated vent trap the flow ofcondenser water during the drying operation acts as the sealing meansand the arrangement of the trap and in fact the venting system as awhole are described and claimed in the copending application of WalterJ. Raczynski, S. N. 538,891 filed October 6, 1955,

now Patent No. 2,800,008, and assigned to the same assignee as thepresent invention. Reference may be had to that application for a fullexplanation of the operation of the vent trap, the trap forming no partof the present invention.

The condenser water entering the tub chamber 4 from the vent trap isthen flowed down the inner surface of the side wall of the tub in orderto condense the moisture being evaporated from the clothes as a resultof the heat supplied from the heaters 18 and 19. Specifically, the wateris flowed down the lower quadrant of the tub side wall immediately belowthe inlet aperture from the vent trap, that is the lower left handquadrant of the tub as viewed in Fig. l or the lower right hand quadrantof the tub as viewed in Fig. 4. In order to distribute the water evenlyacross the side wall in a thin sheet there are provided in the machine 1an inverted V-shaped raised area or chevron 39 on the tub and a waterspreader element 40 which covers or overlies both the inlet aper' turefrom the vent trap and the upper end end of the chevron. The spreaderelement 40 and the chevron or raised area39 cooperate so as to spreadthe water across the width of the tub side wall whereby it flows downthe wall in a thin sheet or film. A preferred spreader element and itsarrangement with regard to the chevron to effect this result aredescribed and claimed in the copending application of John .W. Toma, S.N. 609,854 filed concurrently herewith and assigned to the same assigneeas the present invention.

As the condenser water flows down the wall of the tub it cools the wallof the tub and provides a cold surface on which moisture may condenseout of the moist air within the chamber 4. As the moisture condenses, itis thencarried down the side wallwith the condenser water. My invention-is particularly directed. to an arrangement whereby the condenser wateris reused within the drying chamber 4 after it reaches the bottom of thewall to provide a second condensing effect within the chamber. As aresult of the second condensing elfect obtained by the reutilization .ofthe condenser water a more efficient drying operation is provided.

The second condensing eifect is obtained by collecting the flow comingdown the tub side wall, directing it to onecnd of the bottom of the tub,and then passing it in a turbulent state longitudinally across thebottom of the tub from one end of the chamber 4 to the other. The flowas it passes across the chamber bottom thereby produces an additionalcondensing action which adds appreciably to the effectiveness of thedrying operation. It is believed that this additional condensing actionis due at least in part to new surfaces or molecules of the water beingexposed to the moist air within the chamber 4, which were not exposed asthe flow came down the tub side wall in a more or less laminar sheet.

In order to obtain the second condensing action in the machine I haveprovided within the drying chamber 4, a baffle or dam 41 which catchesthe water as it reaches the lower portion of the side wall of thechamber. This baffle 41 in the illustrated embodiment extends slantwiseacross the side wall of the tub or in other words its rear end 42 liesslightly higher up the tub wall than does its front end 43. As the watercomes down the wall of the tub it is caught by the baffle 41 and turnedso that it flows across the wall of the tub toward the front end of themachine. A gasket 44 positioned between the baflle and the tub wallprevents leakage under the baffle, and an overhanging flange 45 on thetop of the bafiie prevents splashing over it. The baflle may be held onthe tub wall by any suitable means, as, for example, by the bolts 46.Incidentally, it will be understood that the baflie may be formed as an-integral part of the tub wall in which case the gasket 44 and bolts 46would not be needed.

After the water leaves the front end 43 of the dam it is then caused topass longitudinally across the bottom of the tub and as it passes acrossthe tub, it provides the second condensing action. To cause the water toflow longitudinally across the tub bottom the bottom is recessed asindicated at 47 and the drain aperture 28 is positioned at the rear ofthe recess. Due to this positioning of the drain aperture the condenserwater can escape from the tub only at the rear thereof, and thereby itmust and does pass longitudinally across the tub bottom after leavingthe battle. Further, in the illustrated embodiment the fiat bottomsurface or wall of the recess is sloped downwardly from front to rear toaid in producing this flow. This flat surface of the recess also servesas an area over which the water may spread laterally into a condensingsheet as it passes longitudinally across the tub bottom.

As the water leaves the front end of the baffle, it is no longer in thelaminar flow in which it came down the tub. Rather as a result of beingcaught and turned by the baifle, it is flowing with considerableturbulence as it leaves the baflie. Thereby, as indicated above, newsurfaces of the water are presented to the moist air Within the chamber4 as the water spreads over the flat bottom surface of the recess 47 andpasses across the tub bottom, and thus a second condensing action isobtained from the same condenser water already used on the wet wall. Thecondenser water and the moisture condensed there by, after reaching thedrain aperture 28, are then removed from the machine by the drain pump30 which runs continuously during the drying cycle.

I have found that by providing the second condensing effect within thedrying chamber, the drying operation tends to take place at a lowertemperature. This has the advantage that the clothes are less likely tobe scorched or otherwise heat damaged during the process. For example,in a size of the illustrated machine suitable for domestic use having aclothes basket 26" in diameter it has been found that the clothesplateau temperature is lowered approximately 5 F. when my secondcondensing action is added to the principal wet wall condensing action.In other words the provision of the dam 41 and the recess 47 in thebottom of the tub is effective to lower the clothes plateau temperatureby about 5 F. By clothes plateau temperature it is meant thattemperature of the clothes load at which the heat input to the clothesis equal to the heat actually used in evaporating moisture from them.When this condition occurs the temperature within the chamber 4 remainsrelatively constant, i. e., at a plateau, for a substantial period oftime and hence there is derived the term clothes plateau temperature.This plateau temperature continues for a large portion of the dryingoperation and in fact when the temperature begins to rise above it, itis an indication that the drying process is substantially complete. Thusif the clothes plateau temperature is lower, it means that agreatportion of the drying cycle is conducted at a lower temperature withless likelihood of heat damage to the clothes.

In order to control the length of the drying operation it is preferablethat some temperature responsive automatic means he used. In the machine1 a thermostat 48 (Fig. 1) is provided for that purpose, which has asensing bulb 49 disposed within the tub structure. The

thermostat 48 senses the temperature within the chamber 4 and thus thecondition of the clothes as the drying cycle continues. When the clotheshave substantially dried, i. e. when the temperature rises apredetermined amount above the clothes plateau temperature, the dryingcycle is terminated automatically by the action of the thermostat andthe clean dry clothes may be removed from the machine.

Summing up briefly the operation of the machine 1 it will be understoodthat the clothes are first tumbled in soapy water so as to wash themfree of soil particles and stains. The wash water is introduced into themachine through the inlet valves controlled by the solenoids 22 and 23and the soap is placed into the machine through the door 8. After theclothes have been Washed for a suitable length of time, the wash wateris then drained from the machine by the pump 30 and the clothes basketis driven at high speed to extract the wash water from the clothes.Following the extraction of the wash water, clean rinse water isintroduced into the machine by means of the water inlet valves and theclothes are tumbled in the rinse water so as to rinse them of suds. Therinse Water is then drained from the machine and the clothes are againspun at high speed. Following the extraction of the rinse water from'theclothes, which leaves them in a clean-damp dry condition, the heaters 18and 19 are then turned on and the basket driven at tumble speed so as toheat or fluff dry the clothes.

As the machine proceeds into the drying operation with the heatersenergized, the solenoid 33 of the condenser water valve is energized sothat condenser water is passed into the machine through the vent trap37. This condenser water is spread by means of the spreader 40 andchevron 39 so that the condenser water flows down the wall of the tub ina wide evenly distributed sheet or film. This sheet or film produces afirst condensing action within the chamber 4 to condense the moistureextracted from the clothes being tumbled. Near the bottom of the tubwall the sheet of water is caught by the dam or baffle 41 and turnedtoward the front of the tub. At the front of the tub the water isdischarged from the baffle 41 in a turbulent state, and it proceeds toflow from there longitudinally back across the bottom of the tub to thedrain 28. As the condenser water passes longitudinally across the bottomof the tub, new surfaces of the water are presented to the moist airwithin the chamber 4 and thereby a second condensing action is producedwithin the chamber. This second condensing action when added to the wetwall condensing action is effective to lower the clothes plateautemperature and thereby produce a more satisfactory drying operation.The condenser water and the condensed moisture are of course drainedcontinuously from the machine by the pump 30. When the clothes have beensubstantially dried as sensed by the thermostat 48, the drying cycle isthereupon terminated automatically with all the electrical components ofthe machine being de-energized.

While in accordance with the Patent Statutes I have described what atpresent is considered the preferred embodiment of my invention, it willbe obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from .theinvention,and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended ,claims to cover all suchchanges and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope ofthe invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. In a clothes drying machine, a tub structure defining a dryingchamber, clothes tumbling means disposed within said drying chamber,heating means .for heating the clothes being tumbled to extract moisturetherefrom, means for flowing a sheet of cold condenser water down a wallof said chamber for condensing said moisture, a drain from the bottom ofsaid chamber adjacent one end thereof for discharging said condenserwater from said chamber, and a baffle extending slant-wise across saidwall above said drain effective to collect said water and direct ittoward other end of said chamber, .said baffle terminating at a pointspaced from the surface defining said other end of said chamber, wherebysaid water must flow longitudinally across said chamber from the,discharge and of said baffle to said drain producing a second.condensing action during its passage.

2. in a clothes drying machine, a tub structure defining a dryingchamber, clothes tumbling means disposed Within said drying chamber,heating means for heating the clothes being tumbled to extract moisturetherefrom, means for flowing a sheet of cold condenser water down a wallof said chamber for condensing said moisture, ,a drain from the bottomof said chamber adjacent one end thereof for discharging said condenserwater from said chamber, a baffle extendingslantrwise across said Wallabove said drain effective to collect saidwater and direct it to theother end of said chamber, said baffle terminating at a point spacedfrom the surface defining said other end of said chamber, whereby saidwater must flow longitudinally across the chamber from the discharge endof said battle to said drainproducing a second condensing action withinsaid chamber during its passage, and a recess in said wallof saidchamber below said baffle for conducting said water from said dischargeend of said.

bati'le tosaid drain,..said recess having a fiat bottom surface overwhich saidwater may spread laterally .as.it flows longitudinally acrosssaid chamber.

3. In a clothes drying machine, a tub structure defining a dryingchamber, clothes tumbling means disposed within said drying chamber,heating means for heating the clothes being tumbled to extract moisturetherefrom, means for flowing a sheet of cold condenser water down a wallof said chamber for condensing said moisture, a battle extendingslant-wise across said wall above the bottom of said chamber to collectsaid water and direct it toward one end of said chamber, said bafileterminating at a point spaced from the surface defining said other endof said chamber, and a wall surface of said chamber below saidbafiiesloping downwardly toward the other end of said chamber wherebysaid water is passed longitudinally across said chamber after leavingsaid bafileto produce a second condensing action.

4-. Ina clothes drying machine, a tub structure defining a dryingchamber, clothestumbling means disposed within said drying chamber,heating means for heating the clothes being tumbled to extract moisturetherefrom, means for flowing a sheet of cold condenser water down a wallof said chamber for condensing said moisture, a batlle extendingslantwise across said wall above the bottom of saidchamber to collectwater and direct it toward one end of ,said chamber, said bafileterminating at a point spaced from the surface defining said other endof said chamber and having an overhanging top edge to prevent splashingof said water thereover, a recess in said chamber below said bafflehaving a fiat bottom surface sloping downwardly toward the other end ofsaid chamber, whereby said water is passed longitudinally across saidchamber after leaving said baffle to produce a second condensing action,and a drain at said other end of said chamber for draining saidcondenser water from said chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,217,345 McGraW Oct. 8, 1 940 2,451,692 Pugh Oct. 19, 1948 2,644,245Hammell et a]. July 7, 1953 2,680,916 Smith June 15, 1954

